RAGE Protein May Be Biomarker for IPF Prognosis, Diagnosis

A protein called RAGE may be a useful biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a recent study suggests. RAGE levels were found to be decreased in the lungs of IPF patients, and in those of mice used to model the human disease. Meanwhile, the…

Growing up as an only child, I’ve spent my whole life hearing what one Washington Post writer calls “a slew of profoundly unflattering and occasionally contradictory stereotypes.” I’ve been told many times how lucky I am that I don’t have to share my parents’ affection with siblings. Or…

Agomab Therapeutics and Origo Biopharma are joining forces to develop new therapies for pulmonary fibrosis (PF) and other conditions caused by excessive tissue scarring, or fibrosis. “Agomab and Origo share a common vision that targeting growth factors has tremendous disease-modifying potential,” Tim Knotnerus, Agomab’s CEO, said in…

My mom, Diana, has this endearing way of summarizing books she’s read or movies she’s seen by reducing entire plotlines to who’s in love with whom. As someone who’s studied the craft of storytelling, I have a hard time hearing great works of art being reduced to…

Healthcare providers should broach the topic of palliative care — specialized care that may or may not include hospice — with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) patients shortly after they are diagnosed, according to a position statement recently issued by the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF). “Soon after diagnosis, discussions of…

In May 2017, I began the roller coaster ride that was my lung transplant evaluation. I call it this because it had the usual climbs of positive developments, and the fast and dramatic drops. But it also had terrifying twists and turns, and unexpected events, which left me frustrated…

Smoking cigarettes substantially increases the risk of developing idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to a population-based study conducted in Korea. The findings indicate the risk of IPF is greater in current smokers, compared with people who used to smoke but have since quit. The study, “Impact…

Oncodesign and TiumBio have partnered to develop therapies for various diseases caused by fibrosis, or tissue scarring, including pulmonary fibrosis (PF). Under the collaboration, the French company Oncodesign will identify, produce, optimize, and conduct early stage analysis of therapeutic candidates generated from Nanocyclix — a technology…

Clinicians in the U.K. will now be able to prescribe the antifibrotic medicine Ofev (nintedanib) to people with non-idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (PF) under a new decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). That decision came following a five-year campaign led by the U.K. charity…

It was around this time last year that some people began to envision what life might be like after the COVID-19 pandemic ended. While the first COVID-19 vaccination wasn’t officially administered until last December, talk about the jab was on the horizon last fall. That’s what prompted some to…